Here Come The Colourist

By: Jocelyn Cervantes, Editor

Maya Tuttle was helping a friend on a student film when the friend referred to her as a colorist. A colorist is someone who manipulates color scheme in order to recreate a new story of emotion through color. The Colourist does just that through hypnotic, captivating tunes and mesmerizing, storytelling lyrics. Orange County natives, The Colourist formed in 2009 by Maya Tuttle, Adam Castilla, Kollin Johannsen, and Justin Wanger. They’ve toured with bands such as The Naked and Famous, Atlas Genius, Fitz and the Tantrum, and Youngblood Hawke. “It’s really fun practice working on our music. It’s sort of like summer school-constantly learning, a fun way to grow.” Tuttle comments about touring with these bands.

The one thing that sets The Colourist apart from other bands is their female drummer. Yes, you read that right. It’s very common for a male member to play drums while the female does vocal and the occasional tamburin, but not for The Colourist. “I’ve always thought the drums were cool,” Tuttle states, but her  passion with the drum began when she, at the age of twelve, saw a picture of Karen Carpenter drumming.  After that Tuttle began playing the drums, she played in band during high school and was a member of the band Paper Thin Walls where she met band mate Adam Castilla. Music has always been exciting for Tuttle, “Music moved my core.” She further describes music as the, “art in my life.” Her father was a piano teacher and she played the saxophone in middle school.

Their alluring song lyrics remind you of summer: the long, memory filled days that never seem to end.  Tuttle describes their creative process when writing songs  as spontaneous, they find inspiration from each other, their stories, joint experiences as a band, and being away from home. The Colourist released their debut studio album, The Colourist, in March of last year and recently released their first remix EP, Invasions, this past October.

The Colourist is excited to be currently on tour with cool kids Echosmith. “You can expect a very energetic show with new music,” Tuttle comments. They will be at The House of Blues here in Anaheim on March 28 so make sure to snatch tickets before they’re all sold out; I’ve had mine for weeks now.

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